Mr Wu

What can I say that has not already been said other then another Bravo. An absolute perfect portrait to me.Regards

 

It must be said that when you see the thumb of this image, it creates the need to see a lager version because it is somehow striking. But I totaly agree with Ricardo that this image and plenty of overmanipulated images in this site don't smell that trueness that made me come into photography some 10 years ago.

 

I myself, retouch in PS some things but not to the point where you woldn't recognise the original if I want to call that a photo...

very good!

It is an outrage that someone would give you a 3/3 on this or any of your other work. Of course they are anonymous. It is not fair. Thank you. John Math

nice vignetting. Could do without the fake smoke.

Artificial smoke or not over sharpened or not is really irrelevant; the reality is that this portrait was awarded the first prize in an international digital competition. This prize carried with it two thousand Euros, and I agree is beyond rating. Salem is worth our congratulations for his modesty, at the very least.

"this portrait was awarded the first prize in an international digital competition"

http://www.velvetclassic.net/competition/component/option,com_zoom/Itemid,102/catid,2/

This surprises me. This is a good portrait, but the smoke is laughable, unconvincing and becomes the subject of discussion. The background... well...why not just do a proper portrait with backlighting?

 

The face is very interesting but the background looks ridiculous. It might have worked with Marlene Dietrich (with professional lighting and in a studio) but not for Mr Wu. The face deserves context, this has less context than a passport photo. I don't know why so many people are falling over themselves with praise for it.

 

I am not against digital manipulation but I do agree with much of what Ricardo says.

 

To those that say this has won a competition therefore it is great, I would say think for yourself and consider whether something could be made better or worse simply by praise.

Anyone who fell for this crude manipulation is a fool or half blind. Shame because I believe, in there somewhere, is a decent portrait.

It is very expressive.

It's my second 7/7. Nothing to say, impressive work !

This would be a wonderful portrait but the smoke manipulation ruins it for me, sorry. A great idea and portrait marred by poorly executed PS manipulation.

Hello all.

 

I'm new to this forum, though I've been lurking on the site for some time now.

The discussion on this portrait finally motivated me to make some comments.

 

I'm an avid amateur photographer, and have recently converted from film to digital (a Canon EOS 40D). As such, I've been interested to learn more from internet sites such as this about photography.

 

As an amateur with little experience, all I can say is I bring naive eyes to many of the "photographs" on this site. On the whole, the heavily manipulated images bear little resemblance to what photography means to me. With respect to the photographer, who I'm sure could teach me an enormous amount, this portrait exemplifies what I think is wrong about many pictures on this site.

 

The face itself is wonderfull. Expressive, sharp, and with a depth of meaning in the eyes. The context and smoke, however, make this "portrait" look like something out of a looney tunes cartoon.

 

I'm quite happy to be criticised for these comments, and with my lack of experience, probably have no place to make them, but photograph after photograph on this site receiving 7/7 and comments such as "flawless" simply make me cringe. Manipulation of images is not the problem here. Some images are manipulated to the point where they become more computer art than photography, and that's fine, but this image is clearly meant to be a photograph. When the image is so clearly stuck between the two, I think it loses its impact.

 

Although I have chosen this image to vent, I must say that it is mostly the manipulated landscapes on this site that have really turned my stomach. Why the need to constantly fiddle with colour/saturation/layers etc. to the point the image no longer looks natural? I'm still in the process of learning to manipulate the tones/curves/white balance etc. of my images, but only to compensate for the limitations of my cameras sensor and my developing photography skills, with the sole purpose of trying to capture what my eye has seen. My aim is to evetually create photographs I can print from unmanipulated files, but I know this will take time and experience.

 

I hope these comments will generate a response, as I'm keen to here the photographers and others opinions of them.

Excellent portrait Saleem. I like his direct look. Regards.

Stunning portrait - all the lines of life clearly etched on his face. One of the best I've seen.

I love this shot, Such an interesting look and pose. This is exactly the kind of portrait I love to draw!